Joe Castiglione email confirms Oklahoma laying off athletic staff members due to revenue sharing

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione confirmed a major fear, as revenue sharing with college athletes is coming to college sports. The university will be laying off employees due to the matter, his email obtained by OU Daily confirmed.

According to the email, which was shared with OU Daily by an equipment manager, “Castiglione wrote that OU has reached a critical moment that requires the department to restructure its staff functions, resulting in a ‘limited reduction in force.’ This difficult decision was made with great consideration, understanding it impacts our colleagues and their families.”

Mike Houck, an associate athletic director, told OU Daily in an email that 5% of 302 full-time, non-student department employees would be cut. Per the report, “that equates to approximately 15 positions and follows what Houck described as significant cost-cutting over the past nine months.”

Additionally, Castiglione added that he would be adjusting his compensation in light of the cuts, via the email to his staffers obtained by OU Daily. However, “Houck declined to specify to the Daily Castiglione’s prior or new salary, saying those would be available only through an open-records request.”

“This is the only expected reduction in force for our department,” Castiglione wrote in the email, per OU Daily. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to you and to the mission that drives us: serving our student-athletes and representing the University of Oklahoma with pride and integrity.”

Moreover, the report noted that this comes after Castiglione wrote in a public letter to fans in February that the university was planning to share the maximum allowed annual revenue of $20.5 million starting July 1, following the “expected approval” of House v. NCAA, an ongoing class action lawsuit settlement that will lead to universities paying athletes a portion of their media revenues.

“According to the letter, OU plans to use the $20.5 million to reallocate existing funds and evaluate future ticket pricing and premium offerings across all sports,” OU Daily reported. “Castiglione said then that there would be new parameters for name, image and likeness after July 1 and that providing financial support would be the university’s primary competitive edge in recruiting and maintaining student-athletes.”

Of course, this will have an impact on other areas of the school, and that’ll be the case for a majority of programs. Oklahoma may be one of the first to make it official, but they’ll be far from the last as a new reality for college sports sets in.